GEOFFREY Bwalya Mwamba milling plant yesterday survived getting burnt after quick action by the Lusaka City Council (LCC) fire brigade team managed to quench the fire that gutted a nearby battery plant.

However, a rumour was manufactured that properties worth colossal sums of money at GBM milling plant were destroyed in the inferno, but a check by the Daily Nation yesterday revealed that GBM’s premises were not, in fact, affected but instead a battery company, Mahesh which had set up a metal recycling plant and extracts lead metal from finished car batteries had been gutted.

And some workers who were found at the premises revealed that the fire affected the battery raw material worth thousands of kwacha which was next to Mr Mwamba’s milling plant.

It was not established how the fire started.

And Zambia Police deputy spokesperson Rae Hamoonga said his office received a report of a fire incident at 09:45hrs in heavy industrial area from Gabriel Musonda of Lusaka and the manager at GBM milling said there was fire inside GRAVITA (Z) Ltd situated on plot number 17087/88.

Mr Hamoonga said the officers from Community Police post 19 who rushed to the scene found some plastic casings for scrap on fire but fire fighters/brigade quenched the fire.

He said fire started as a result of bush burning by unknown people behind the company, and that the company dealing in old motor vehicles batteries from which they remove cells and plastic covers for recyling.

But some concerned parties revealed that Mr Mwamba had rented out half of his milling plant premises to an Indian Firm, that set up a metal recycling plant and extracts lead metal from finished car batteries.